Vehicle illumination system, vehicle system, lamp unit and vehicle lamp

ABSTRACT

A vehicle illumination system provided in a vehicle capable of traveling around a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction includes: a headlamp mounted on a front portion of the vehicle; a communication lamp disposed on the vehicle body in a region adjacent to the head lamp so as to be visible from ahead of the vehicle; and an illumination control unit configured to change a lighting mode of the communication lamp depending on a state of the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/642,743 filed Feb. 27, 2020, which is a National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2018/029448 filed Aug. 6, 2018,claiming priority based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2017-168285filed Sep. 1, 2017; 2017-168286 filed Sep. 1, 2017; and 2017-204725filed Oct. 23, 2017, the contents of all of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle illumination system.

The present invention also relates to a vehicle system and a lamp unitincluding a road surface drawing lamp.

The present invention also relates to a vehicle lamp.

BACKGROUND ART

A headlamp for a motorcycle is known in Patent Literature 1 and thelike.

In addition, a road surface drawing lamp unit that draws a drawingpattern such as a figure or a character on a road surface is known inPatent Literature 2 and the like.

Further, a tail lamp for a motorcycle including a tail lamp and the likeis known in Patent Literature 3 and the like.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2017-100500-   Patent Literature 2: JP-A-2017-37806-   Patent Literature 3: JP-A-H5-20905

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

A size of the headlamp (particularly a light source) mounted on anautomobile such as a motorcycle in Patent Literature 1 tends to bereduced in accordance with technological progress and a request of auser. Therefore, visibility of the motorcycle from another vehicle (suchas a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle) or a pedestrian when theheadlamp is lit may be lowered.

In order to transmit appropriate information to a driver of the vehicle,an oncoming vehicle, a pedestrian or the like, a drawing pattern on aroad surface is required to be adjusted depending on a state of the ownvehicle.

For example, in order to appropriately ensure an inter-vehicle distancebetween the own vehicle such as the motorcycle and a following vehicle,surroundings of the own vehicle are required to be appropriatelynotified of information on the own vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle illuminationsystem capable of improving visibility of a vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle systemand a lamp unit capable of appropriately adjusting a drawing pattern ona road surface depending on a state of a vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lampcapable of forming a road surface drawing pattern for appropriatelynotifying an object around an own vehicle of information on the ownvehicle.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle illumination system ofthe present invention is a vehicle illumination system provided in avehicle capable of traveling around a corner by inclining a vehicle bodytoward a turning direction. The vehicle illumination system includes:

a headlamp mounted on a front portion of the vehicle;

a communication lamp disposed on the vehicle body in a region adjacentto the head lamp so as to be visible from ahead of the vehicle; and

an illumination control unit configured to change a lighting mode of thecommunication lamp depending on a state of the vehicle.

According to the vehicle illumination system, visibility of the vehicleon which the vehicle illumination system is mounted can be improved.Thereby, for example, safety during nighttime traveling (when the headlamp is lit) can be improved.

The illumination control unit may be configured to change the lightingmode of the communication lamp depending on a lighting mode of theheadlamp.

According to this configuration, the visibility of the vehicle when theheadlamp is lit can be further improved.

The communication lamp includes a plurality of light emitting segments.

The illumination control unit may be configured to change a lightingmode of each of the plurality of light emitting segments.

According to this configuration, the visibility of the vehicle can befurther improved by changing light emission patterns of the plurality oflight emitting segments in various manners.

Each of the plurality of light emitting segments includes a light sourceand a cover member configured to cover the light source and to transmitlight from the light source.

The cover member may be configured to be visible in a color that is thesame as or similar to a color of the region in which the communicationlamp of the vehicle body is disposed when the light source is not lit.

According to this configuration, the visibility of the vehicle when thecommunication lamp is lit can be improved without impairing a design ofthe vehicle (particularly the vehicle body on which the communicationlamp is mounted) when the communication lamp is not lit.

A road surface drawing lamp capable of forming a road surface drawingpattern on a road surface is further provided.

A light emission pattern of the communication lamp may be associatedwith the road surface drawing pattern.

A light emission timing of the light emission pattern may coincide witha light emission timing of the road surface drawing pattern.

According to these configurations, the visibility of the vehicle can befurther improved by forming the road surface drawing pattern inaccordance with light emission of the communication lamp.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle system of the presentinvention includes:

a road surface drawing lamp mounted on a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction;and

a control unit configured to adjust a shape of a road surface drawingpattern formed on a road surface by the road surface drawing lamp.

The control unit is configured to maintain the shape of the road surfacedrawing pattern regardless of an inclination state of the vehicle body.

According to this configuration, the road surface drawing pattern can beadjusted depending on a state of the own vehicle. In particular, bymaintaining the shape of the road surface drawing pattern regardless ofthe inclination state of the vehicle body, appropriate information canbe always provided to a driver of the vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, apedestrian or the like.

In addition, a vehicle system of the present invention includes:

a road surface drawing lamp mounted on a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction;and

a control unit configured to adjust a shape of a road surface drawingpattern formed on a road surface by the road surface drawing lamp.

The control unit is configured to change the shape of the road surfacedrawing pattern depending on an inclination state of the vehicle body.

According to this configuration, the road surface drawing pattern can beadjusted depending on a state of the own vehicle. In particular, bychanging the shape of the road surface drawing pattern depending on theinclination state of the vehicle body, information necessary for safelytraveling around the corner and the like can be provided to a driver ofthe vehicle.

In the vehicle system of the present invention,

a first sensor configured to detect the inclination state of the vehiclebody may be provided in the road surface drawing lamp.

According to this configuration, detection information on theinclination state can be appropriately reflected in formation of theroad surface drawing pattern.

In the vehicle system of the present invention,

a second sensor configured to detect environmental information aroundthe vehicle may be provided in the road surface drawing lamp.

According to this configuration, the environment information around thevehicle can be appropriately reflected in the formation of the roadsurface drawing pattern.

In the vehicle system of the present invention,

the environmental information includes an obstacle around the vehicle.

When the obstacle is detected by the second sensor, the control unit isconfigured to control the road surface drawing lamp to form anadditional drawing pattern added to the road surface drawing pattern,based on at least one of position information of the vehicle, positioninformation of the obstacle and information on a relative positionalrelationship with respect to the obstacle.

According to this configuration, obstacle detection information andposition information of the vehicle and the obstacle can beappropriately reflected in the formation of the road surface drawingpattern.

In order to achieve the above object, a lamp unit of the presentinvention is a lamp unit provided in a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction.The lamp unit includes:

a road surface drawing lamp; and

a control unit configured to adjust a shape of a road surface drawingpattern formed on a road surface by the road surface drawing lamp.

The control unit is configured to operate the road surface drawing lampby at least one of a first mode in which the shape of the road surfacedrawing pattern is maintained regardless of an inclination state of thevehicle body, and a second mode in which the shape of the road surfacedrawing pattern is changed depending on the inclination state of thevehicle body.

According to this configuration, the lamp unit capable of adjusting theroad surface drawing pattern depending on a state of the vehicle can beprovided.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle lamp of the presentinvention is a vehicle lamp provided in a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction.The vehicle lamp includes:

a road surface drawing lamp configured to form a road surface drawingpattern on a road surface around the vehicle;

a detection unit configured to detect an object around the vehicle; and

an illumination control unit configured to control the road surfacedrawing lamp,

The illumination control unit is configured to control the road surfacedrawing lamp so as to form the road surface drawing pattern based onfirst detection information of the object acquired from the detectionunit.

According to the vehicle lamp of the present disclosure, by forming theroad surface drawing pattern on the road surface behind the vehicleunder a certain condition, the object behind the vehicle (for example,the following vehicle) can be appropriately notified of information onthe own vehicle.

The road surface drawing lamp may be configured to form the road surfacedrawing pattern on a road surface behind the vehicle.

According to this configuration, for example, the driver of thefollowing vehicle can be appropriately notified of the information onthe own vehicle.

The object includes a following vehicle behind the vehicle.

The first detection information may include a case where aninter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the following vehicle isequal to or smaller than a certain distance.

According to this configuration, when the following vehicle approachesthe own vehicle, the driver of the following vehicle can be alerted toappropriately ensure the inter-vehicle distance to the own vehicle.

The road surface drawing pattern may include information on theinter-vehicle distance.

According to this configuration, the driver of the following vehicle caneasily recognize that the road surface drawing pattern is intended toensure the inter-vehicle distance.

The illumination control unit may be configured to change a display modeof the road surface drawing pattern depending on the inter-vehicledistance.

According to this configuration, the driver of the following vehicle canbe more effectively alerted using the road surface drawing pattern.

The illumination control unit may be configured to acquire seconddetection information different from the first detection information.

According to this configuration, for example, since the road surfacedrawing pattern can be formed by adding other conditions other than theinter-vehicle distance to the following vehicle, the driver of thefollowing vehicle can be more effectively alerted.

The second detection information may include at least one of informationon a vehicle speed of the vehicle, information on a change state of thevehicle speed and information on weather.

According to this configuration, in a case where it is important toensure the inter-vehicle distance, for example, when the own vehicle istraveling at a high speed, when the own vehicle performs a sudden brake,or in bad weather, the road surface drawing pattern can be formed behindthe own vehicle.

The illumination control unit may have a first mode in which the roadsurface drawing pattern is formed depending on the first detectioninformation, and a second mode in which the road surface drawing patternis formed depending on an input instruction of a driver of the vehicle.

According to this configuration, the road surface drawing pattern can beformed even when it is determined that the driver of the own vehicle isrequired to alert the following vehicle.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, a vehicle illumination systemcapable of improving visibility of a vehicle can be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, a vehicle system and alamp unit capable of adjusting a road surface drawing pattern dependingon a state of a vehicle can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, a vehicle lamp capable offorming a road surface drawing pattern for appropriately notifying anobject around an own vehicle of information on the own vehicle can beprovided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a vehicle including avehicle illumination system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle illumination system in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of acommunication lamp of the vehicle illumination system in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an illumination pattern of thevehicle illumination system.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a case where a light emissionpattern of the communication lamp and a road surface drawing pattern ofa road surface drawing lamp are formed in a stepwise manner.

FIG. 6 is view showing an example of a case where a light emissionpattern of the communication lamp and a road surface drawing pattern ofthe road surface drawing lamp are formed in a stepwise manner.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a case where a light emissionpattern of the communication lamp and a road surface drawing pattern ofthe road surface drawing lamp are formed in a stepwise manner.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a lamp unit mounted on the vehicle in FIG.8.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a configuration ofthe lamp unit in

FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a configuration of a light source unit ofa road surface drawing lamp of the lamp unit in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a lightdistribution unit of the road surface drawing lamp.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a road surface drawing patternformed by the road surface drawing lamp.

FIG. 14A is a view showing a road surface drawing pattern.

FIG. 14B is a view showing a road surface drawing pattern.

FIG. 14C is a view showing a road surface drawing pattern.

FIG. 15A is a view showing a first modification of the road surfacedrawing pattern.

FIG. 15B is a view showing the first modification of the road surfacedrawing pattern.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a second modification of the road surfacedrawing pattern.

FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a vehicle includinga vehicle lamp according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a bottom perspective view of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 21 is a top view of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 22 is a left side view of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 23 is a left side perspective view of the vehicle lamp in FIG. 17.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an example of lighting control of theroad surface drawing lamp shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing an example of the lighting controlof the road surface drawing lamp shown in FIG. 20.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. In the present embodiment, a “left-right direction”, a“front-rear direction” and an “upper-lower direction” are set to bedirections relative to a vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1 for convenience ofdescription. The “front-rear direction” is a direction including a“front direction” and a “rear direction”. The “left-right direction” isa direction including a “left direction” and a “right direction”. The“upper-lower direction” is a direction including an “upper direction”and a “lower direction”.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a motorcycle as an example of the vehicle 100 including avehicle illumination system 1 according to a first embodiment. Themotorcycle 100 is a vehicle capable of traveling around a corner (acurve) of a road by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction.The vehicle of the present embodiment may be any vehicle capable oftraveling around a corner by inclining the vehicle body toward a turningdirection, such as the motorcycle 100, and the number of wheels is notlimited. Therefore, for example, an automatic tricycle or an automobileis included in the vehicle of the present embodiment as long as thevehicle is capable of traveling in the same manner as the motorcycle100.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle illumination system 1 according tothe present embodiment is mounted on a front portion of the vehiclebody, for example, in a motorcycle 100. The vehicle illumination system1 includes a headlamp 2 capable of irradiating ahead of the vehicle, acommunication lamp 3 visible from ahead of the vehicle, and a roadsurface drawing lamp 4 capable of forming a drawing pattern on a roadsurface. Although the motorcycle 100 including one headlamp 2 isillustrated in the present embodiment, the motorcycle 100 may be, forexample, a motorcycle including one headlamp on each of left and rightsides. The headlamp 2 is disposed at a center of a cowl (an example ofthe vehicle body) 101 constituting at least part of the vehicle body ona front side of the motorcycle 100. The communication lamp 3 is disposedon the cowl 101 in a region adjacent to the headlamp 2. Thecommunication lamp 3 is not limited to the one disposed on the cowl 101,and may be disposed in a region adjacent to the headlamp 2 and at aposition easily visible from around the motorcycle 100. The road surfacedrawing lamp 4 is preferably disposed at a position that is not easilyvisible from around the motorcycle 100. In this example, the roadsurface drawing lamp 4 is disposed below the headlamp 2 and in a lowerportion of the cowl 101, for example, as shown in FIG. 1.

The headlamp 2 includes a light source 21. The light source 21 includesan optical system including at least one of a lens and a reflector, andemits light for illuminating a predetermined region. A lamp light sourceor a light emitting element may be used in the light source 21. Examplesof the lamp light source include an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, adischarge lamp, a neon lamp and the like. Examples of the light emittingelement include a light emitting diode, a laser diode, an organic ELelement and the like.

The communication lamp 3 is a lamp that transmits a state and atraveling direction of the motorcycle 100 to another vehicle or apedestrian, and also functions as a marker lamp. The communication lamp3 of the present embodiment is particularly used as a decorative lampthat improves visibility from another vehicle and informs anothervehicle of existence of an own vehicle. Therefore, preferably, thecommunication lamp 3 does not function as a headlight as the headlamp 2,and emits light at a light intensity that does not give glare to apedestrian or a driver of another vehicle.

The road surface drawing lamp 4 has a configuration for projecting(emitting) a predetermined drawing pattern on a road surface in front ofthe motorcycle 100. The road surface drawing lamp 4 may be, for example,a projector.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle illumination system 1 includes anillumination control unit 5 that controls operation of the headlamp 2,the communication lamp 3 and the road surface drawing lamp 4. The headlamp 2, the communication lamp 3 and the road surface drawing lamp 4 areconnected to the illumination control unit 5. In addition, a bank anglesensor 6 that detects an inclination state (a bank angle) of themotorcycle 100 and an external sensor 7 that detects environmentalinformation outside the vehicle are connected to the illuminationcontrol unit 5. Further, a speed sensor 8 or the like that detects aspeed of the motorcycle 100 is connected to the illumination controlunit 5. The control unit 5, the bank angle sensor 6, the external sensor7 and the speed sensor 8 may be provided in a lamp chamber of theheadlamp 2 (or the road surface drawing lamp 4), or may be mounted atpredetermined positions on the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100outside the headlamp 2 or the like. The control unit 5 may beimplemented to function as an integrated control unit (an ECU) mountedon the motorcycle 100, or may be implemented to function as a controldevice disposed in the lamp chamber of the headlamp 2 or the roadsurface drawing lamp 4.

The bank angle sensor 6 is a sensor capable of detecting an inclinationangle when the vehicle body of the motorcycle 100 is inclined left andright with respect to a vertical line. The bank angle sensor 6 includes,for example, a gyro sensor. The inclination angle of the vehicle bodymay be calculated based on an image captured by a camera mounted on themotorcycle 100.

The external sensor 7 is a sensor capable of acquiring externalinformation of the own vehicle including surrounding environment of themotorcycle 100 (for example, an obstacle, another vehicle (a precedingvehicle or an oncoming vehicle), a pedestrian, a road shape, a trafficsign and the like). The external sensor 7 includes at least one of, forexample, light detection and ranging or laser imaging detection andranging (a LiDAR), a camera and a radar.

The LiDAR is a sensor that generally emits invisible light forward andacquires information such as a distance to an object, a shape of theobject, a material of the object and a color of the object based on theemitted light and the returned light.

The camera is, for example, a camera including an imaging element suchas a charge-coupled device (a CCD) and a complementary MOS (a CMOS). Thecamera includes a camera that detects visible light and an infraredcamera that detects infrared rays.

The radar includes a millimeter-wave radar, a microwave radar, a laserradar and the like.

The information detected by the bank angle sensor 6, the external sensor7 and the speed sensor 8 is transmitted to the illumination control unit5. The illumination control unit 5 controls the operation of theheadlamp 2, the communication lamp 3 and the road surface drawing lamp 4based on the information transmitted from the sensors 6 to 8. Forexample, the illumination control unit 5 can control the headlamp 2based on the information detected by the sensors to adjust a lightdistribution pattern formed in front of the vehicle. The illuminationcontrol unit 5 can control the communication lamp 3 based on theinformation detected by the sensors 6 to 8 to adjust a light emissionpattern (hereinafter referred to as a communication pattern) visiblefrom ahead of the vehicle. The illumination control unit 5 can controlthe road surface drawing lamp 4 based on the information detected by thesensors 6 to 8 to adjust the road surface drawing pattern formed on theroad surface.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of the communicationlamp 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication lamp 3 includes aplurality of light emitting segments 31 disposed at predeterminedintervals on a surface of the cowl 101. Each of the plurality of lightemitting segments 31 includes a light source 33 and a film 35 (anexample of a cover member). Each light source 33 is disposed in each ofa plurality of recesses 102 formed in the cowl 101. Examples of thelight source 33 include a light emitting diode, a laser diode, anorganic EL element and the like.

Each film 35 is attached to each recess 102 so as to cover an uppersurface of each light source 33, and transmits light from each lightsource 33. That is, each light emitting segment 31 is formed byaccommodating each light source 33 in a lamp chamber formed by eachrecess 102 and each film 35. The film 35 is formed of a material thattransmits light from the light source 33 and is visible in a color thatis the same as or similar to a color of the cowl 101 when the lightsource 33 is not lit. For example, when the cowl 101 is silver, the film35 may also be formed of a material that is visible in the same silvercolor as that of the cowl 101 when the light source 33 is not lit, andis visible in a light emission color (for example, white) of the lightsource 33 when the light source 33 is lit.

In this example, the plurality of recesses 102 are formed on the surfaceof the cowl 101, and one light source 33 is accommodated in each recess102, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, aconfiguration may be used in which a transparent flexible printedcircuit board (FPC) including a plurality of light sources arranged atpredetermined intervals is mounted on the surface of the cowl 101, asurface of the transparent FPC may be covered with a cover member thattransmits light from the light source of the transparent FPC and isvisible in a color that is the same as or similar to a color of the cowl101 when the light source is not lit.

The illumination control unit 5 is configured to change a lighting modeof the communication lamp 3 depending on a state of the motorcycle 100.For example, the illumination control unit 5 may be configured to lightat least part of the plurality of segments 31 of the communication lamp3 simultaneously with a lighting timing of the headlamp 2 or inconjunction with the lighting timing of the headlamp 2. The illuminationcontrol unit 5 may be configured to light at least part of the pluralityof segments 31 of the communication lamp 3 when the external sensor 7determines that an object such as another vehicle or a pedestrian existswithin a certain distance from the motorcycle 100. The illuminationcontrol unit 5 may be configured to light at least a part of theplurality of segments 31 of the communication lamp 3 when a speeddetected by the speed sensor 8 exceeds a certain threshold or when thespeed is lower than the certain threshold.

As described above, the vehicle illumination system 1 provided in themotorcycle 100 includes the headlamp 2 mounted on a front portion of thevehicle, a communication lamp 3 disposed on the cowl 101 in the regionadjacent to the headlamp 2 so as to be visible from ahead of thevehicle, and a state of the vehicle, and the illumination control unit 5configured to change the lighting mode of the communication lamp 3depending on the state of the vehicle. According to this configuration,for example, when the headlamp 2 of the motorcycle 100 is lit, thecommunication lamp 3 is lit depending on the state of the vehicle, sothat visibility of the vehicle can be improved. Thereby, even when asize of the headlamp 2 is reduced, the visibility of the motorcycle 100is not impaired, and safety during nighttime traveling can be improved.

The illumination control unit 5 may be configured to change the lightingmode of the communication lamp 3 depending on a lighting mode of theheadlamp 2. Therefore, the visibility of the motorcycle 100 when theheadlamp 2 is lit can be improved.

The communication lamp 3 includes the plurality of light emittingsegments 31, and the illumination control unit 5 can be configured tochange a lighting mode of each of the plurality of light emittingsegments 31. According to this configuration, the visibility of themotorcycle 100 can be further improved by changing light emissionpatterns of the plurality of light emitting segments 31 in variousmanners.

The film 35 of each of the plurality of light emitting segments 31 areconfigured to be visible in the color that is the same as or similar tothe color of the region of the cowl 101 of the motorcycle 100 in whichthe communication lamp 3 is disposed when the light source 33 is notlit. According to this configuration, a design of the motorcycle 100when the communication lamp 3 is not lit is not impaired.

Next, an example of an illumination pattern of the vehicle illuminationsystem 1 according to the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of thelight emission pattern of the communication lamp 3 and the road surfacedrawing pattern formed on the road surface by the road surface drawinglamp 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the illumination control unit 5 may be configured toform a road surface drawing pattern P2 having a predetermined shape onthe road surface by the road surface drawing lamp 4 in conjunction withlight emission of the communication lamp 3. For example, the roadsurface drawing pattern P2 preferably has a shape corresponding to alight emission pattern P1 of the communication lamp 3 (that is, anarrangement shape of the plurality of light emitting segments 31). Sincethe road surface drawing pattern P2 is formed on the road surface inconjunction with the light emission of the communication lamp 3, thevisibility of the motorcycle 100 from a preceding vehicle, an oncomingvehicle or the pedestrian can be further improved.

The illumination control unit 5 can change a light emission timing ofthe light emission pattern P1 of the communication lamp 3 and a lightemission timing of the road surface drawing pattern P2 formed by theroad surface drawing lamp 4 in various manners depending on the state ofthe motorcycle 100 and a change in the external environment. Forexample, the light emission timing of the light emission pattern P1 maycoincide with the light emission timing of the road surface drawingpattern P2.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the illumination control unit 5 may controllight emission timings such that the light emission pattern P1 and theroad surface drawing pattern P2 are formed by lighting and irradiationin a stepwise manner. In FIGS. 5 to 7, patterns P1, P2 displayed inwhite are portions that emit light or are irradiated, and the patternsP1, P2 painted in black are portions that do not emit light or are notirradiated. In this way, the illumination control unit 5 can performslighting control on the plurality of light emitting segments 31 one byone or sequentially for each successive group, and can perform lightingcontrol on light distribution units of the road surface drawing patternP2 one by one or sequentially for each successive group.

In the above embodiment, the communication lamp 3 includes the pluralityof light emitting segments 31, but is not limited to thereto. Forexample, the communication lamp 3 may include a surface light emittingunit that emits light in an entire certain region of the cowl 101. Forexample, the surface light emitting unit may include an organic ELelement such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or a lightemitting polymer.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 8 shows a motorcycle as an example of a vehicle 300 according to asecond embodiment. The motorcycle 300 is a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner (a curve) of a road by inclining a vehicle body toward aturning direction. The vehicle of the present embodiment may be anyvehicle capable of traveling around a corner by inclining the vehiclebody toward a turning direction, such as the motorcycle 300, and thenumber of wheels is not limited. Therefore, for example, an automatictricycle or an automobile is included in the vehicle of the presentembodiment as long as the vehicle is capable of traveling in the samemanner as the motorcycle 300.

As shown in FIG. 8, a lamp unit 301 is mounted on a front portion of themotorcycle 300. The lamp unit 301 includes a road surface drawing lamp302 capable of forming a drawing pattern on a road surface, and aheadlamp 303 capable of irradiating ahead of the vehicle. Although themotorcycle 300 including one lamp unit 301 is illustrated in the presentembodiment, the motorcycle 300 may be, for example, a motorcycleincluding one lamp unit on each of left and right sides. The roadsurface drawing lamp and the headlamp may be separated from each otherat different positions, for example, the headlamp may be disposed in acenter portion of the front portion of the vehicle, and the road surfacedrawing lamp may be disposed below the headlamp and at a position noteasily visible form a front of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 9, the lamp unit 301 (a vehicle system) includes a lampcontrol unit 305 that controls operation of the road surface drawinglamp 302 and the headlamp 303. The road surface drawing lamp 302 and thehead lamp 303 are connected to the lamp control unit 305. In addition, abank angle sensor 306 (an example of a first sensor) that detects aninclination state of the motorcycle 300 and an external sensor 307 (anexample of a second sensor) that detects environmental informationoutside the vehicle are connected to the lamp control unit 305. Further,a speed sensor 308 or the like that detects a speed of the motorcycle300 are connected to the lamp control unit 305.

The information detected by the bank angle sensor 306, the externalsensor 307 and the speed sensor 308 is transmitted to the lamp controlunit 305. The lamp control unit 305 controls the operation of the roadsurface drawing lamp 302 and the headlamp 303 based on the informationtransmitted from the sensors 306 to 308. For example, the lamp controlunit 305 can control the road surface drawing lamp 302 based on theinformation detected by the sensors 306 to 308 to adjust a shape of thedrawing pattern drawn on the road surface. The lamp control unit 305 cancontrol the headlamp 303 based on the information detected by thesensors to adjust a light distribution pattern formed in front of thevehicle.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematicconfiguration of the road surface drawing lamp 302 of the lamp unit 301.As shown in FIG. 10, the lamp unit 301 includes a lamp body 311 havingan opening at a front side of the vehicle, and a transparent front cover312 attached so as to cover the opening of the lamp body 311. The roadsurface drawing lamp 302, the lamp control unit 305, the bank anglesensor 306 and the external sensor (for example, a LiDAR) 307 areaccommodated in a lamp chamber 313 formed by the lamp body 311 and thefront cover 312. Although not shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG.10, the headlamp 303 is also accommodated in the lamp chamber 313 of thelamp unit 301 similarly to the road surface drawing lamp 302.

The road surface drawing lamp 302 includes a light source unit 320 and alight distribution unit 330 that reflects light from the light sourceunit 320. The light source unit 320 and the light distribution unit 330are supported at predetermined positions in the lamp chamber 313 by asupport plate 341. The support plate 341 is attached to the lamp body311 via aiming screws 342.

The light source unit 320 includes a plurality of (three in thisexample) light sources 321, a heat sink 322, a plurality of (four inthis example) lenses 323, and a light collection unit 324. The lightsource unit 320 is fixed to a front surface of the support plate 341.Each light source 321 is electrically connected to the lamp control unit305.

The light distribution unit 330 includes a terminal portion 337 and areflection mirror 338. The light distribution unit 330 has apredetermined positional relationship with the light source unit 320such that laser light emitted from the light source unit 320 can bereflected toward a front of the road surface drawing lamp 302 via thereflection mirror 338. The light distribution unit 330 is fixed to afront end of a protrusion 343 protruding forward from the front surfaceof the support plate 341. The terminal portion 337 is electricallyconnected to the lamp control unit 305.

The lamp control unit 305 is fixed to the lamp body 311 rearward thanthe support plate 341. A position where the lamp control unit 305 isprovided is not limited to this position. The road surface drawing lamp302 is configured such that an optical axis can be adjusted horizontallyand vertically by rotating the aiming screws 342 to adjust an attitudeof the support plate 341.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the light source unit 320 constituting theroad surface drawing lamp 302. As shown in FIG. 11, the light sourceunit 320 includes a first light source 321 a, a second light source 321b, a third light source 321 c, the heat sink 322, a first lens 323 a, asecond lens 323 b, a third lens 323 c, a fourth lens 323 d and the lightcollection unit 324.

The first light source 321 a is a light source that emits red laserlight R, and is formed of a light emitting element including a red laserdiode. Similarly, the second light source 321 b is formed of a greenlaser diode that emits green laser light G, and the third light source321 c is formed of a blue laser diode that emits blue laser light B. Thefirst light source 321 a, the second light source 321 b and the thirdlight source 321 c are disposed such that the laser light emittingsurface 325 a, the laser light emitting surface 325 b and the laserlight emitting surface 325 c serving as light emitting surfaces areparallel to each other. The light emitting element of each light sourceis not limited to a laser diode.

The first light source 321 a to the third light source 321 c aredisposed such that the laser light emitting surfaces 325 a to 325 c facethe front of the road surface drawing lamp 302, and are attached to theheat sink 322. The heat sink 322 is formed of a material having a highthermal conductivity such as aluminum, and is attached to the lightsource unit 320 in a state in which a rear side surface of the heat sink322 is in contact with the support plate 341 (see FIG. 10).

The first lens 323 a to the fourth lens 323 d are formed of, forexample, a collimating lens. The first lens 323 a is provided on anoptical path of the red laser light R between the first light source 321a and the light collection unit 324, converts the red laser light Remitted from the first light source 321 a into parallel light, and emitsthe parallel light to the light collection unit 324. The second lens 323b is provided on an optical path of the green laser light G between thesecond light source 321 b and the light collection unit 324, convertsthe green laser light G emitted from the second light source 321 b intoparallel light, and emits the parallel light to the light collectionunit 324.

The third lens 323 c is provided on an optical path of the blue laserlight B between the third light source 321 c and the light collectionunit 324, converts the blue laser light B emitted from the third lightsource 321 c into parallel light, and emits the parallel light to thelight collection unit 324. The fourth lens 323 d is fitted into anopening provided in an upper portion of a housing 326 of the lightsource unit 320. The fourth lens 323 d is provided on an optical path ofwhite laser light W (described below) between the light collection unit324 and the light distribution unit 330 (see FIG. 10), converts thewhite laser light W emitted from the light collection unit 324 intoparallel light, and emits the parallel light to the light distributionunit 330.

The light collection unit 324 collects the red laser light R, the greenlaser light G and the blue laser light B to generate the white laserlight W. The light collection unit 324 includes a first dichroic mirror324 a, a second dichroic mirror 324 b and a third dichroic mirror 324 c.

The first dichroic mirror 324 a is a mirror that reflects at least redlight and transmits blue light and green light, and is disposed so as toreflect the red laser light R passing through the first lens 323 atoward the fourth lens 323 d. The second dichroic mirror 324 b is amirror that reflects at least green light and transmits blue light, andis disposed so as to reflect the green laser light G passing through thesecond lens 323 b toward the fourth lens 323 d. The third dichroicmirror 324 c is a mirror that reflects at least blue light, and isdisposed so as to reflect the blue laser light B passing through thethird lens 323 c toward the fourth lens 323 d.

A positional relationship among the first dichroic mirror 324 a to thethird dichroic mirror 324 c is determined such that optical paths oflaser light reflected by the first dichroic mirror 324 a to the thirddichroic mirror 324 c are parallel to each other and the laser light arecollected and incident on the fourth lens 323 d. In this example, thefirst dichroic mirror 324 a to the third dichroic mirror 324 c aredisposed such that regions of the dichroic mirrors 324 a to 324 cirradiated by the laser light (reflection points of the laser light) isaligned in a straight line.

The blue laser light B emitted from the third light source 321 c isreflected by the third dichroic mirror 324 c and proceeds to the seconddichroic mirror 324 b. The green laser light G emitted from the secondlight source 321 b is reflected by the second dichroic mirror 324 btoward the first dichroic mirror 324 a, and is superimposed on the bluelaser light B transmitted through the second dichroic mirror 324 b. Thered laser light R emitted from the first light source 321 a is reflectedby the first dichroic mirror 324 a toward the fourth lens 323 d, and issuperimposed on the collected light of the blue laser light B and thegreen laser light G transmitted through the first dichroic mirror 324 a.As a result, the white laser light W is formed, and the formed whitelaser light W passes through the fourth lens 323 d and proceeds to thelight distribution unit 330.

In the first light source 321 a to the third light source 321 c, thefirst light source 321 a that emits the red laser light R is disposed ata position closest to the light collection unit 324, the third lightsource 321 c that emits the blue laser light B is disposed farthest fromthe light collection unit 324, and the second light source 321 b thatemits the green laser light G is disposed at an intermediate position.That is, the first light source 321 a to the third light source 321 care disposed at positions closer to the light collection unit 324 as awavelength of the emitted laser light becomes longer.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the light distribution unit 330constituting the road surface drawing lamp 302 as viewed from a frontside. As shown in FIG. 12, the light distribution unit 330 includes abase 331, a first rotation body 332, a second rotation body 333, a firsttorsion bar 334, a second torsion bar 335, permanent magnets 336 a, 336b, a terminal portion 337 and a reflection mirror 338. The lightdistribution unit 330 includes, for example, a galvanomirror. The lightdistribution unit 330 may include, for example, a MEMS mirror.

The base 331 is a frame having an opening 331 a at a center thereof, andis fixed to the protrusion 343 (see FIG. 10) in a state of beinginclined in a front-rear direction of the road surface drawing lamp 302.The first rotation body 332 is disposed in the opening 331 a of the base331. The first rotation body 332 is a frame having an opening 332 a at acenter thereof, and is supported by the first torsion bar 334 extendingfrom a rear lower side to a front upper side of the road surface drawinglamp 302 so as to be rotatable in a left and right direction (in avehicle width direction) with respect to the base 331.

The second rotation body 333 is disposed in the opening 332 a of thefirst rotation body 332. The second rotation body 333 is a rectangularflat plate and is supported by the second torsion bar 335 extending inthe vehicle width direction so as to be rotatable in an upper-lowerdirection (vertically) with respect to the first rotation body 332. Whenthe first rotation body 332 is rotated in the left and right directionabout the first torsion bar 334 a as a rotation axis, the secondrotation body 333 is rotated in the left and right direction togetherwith the first rotation body 332. The reflection mirror 338 is providedon a surface of the second rotation body 333 by plating, vapordeposition or the like.

The base 331 is provided with a pair of permanent magnets 336 a atpositions perpendicular to an extending direction of the first torsionbar 334. The permanent magnets 336 a form a magnetic field perpendicularto the first torsion bar 334. A first coil (not shown) is wired to thefirst rotation body 332, and the first coil is connected to the lampcontrol unit 305 via the terminal portion 337. The base 331 is providedwith a pair of permanent magnets 336 b at positions perpendicular to anextending direction of the second torsion bar 335. The permanent magnets336 b form a magnetic field perpendicular to the second torsion bar 335.A second coil (not shown) is wired to the second rotation body 333, andthe second coil is connected to the lamp control unit 305 via theterminal portion 337.

By controlling a magnitude and a direction of a current flowing throughthe first coil and the second coil, the first rotation body 332 and thesecond rotation body 333 perform reciprocating rotation in the left andright direction, and the second rotation body 333 independently performsreciprocating rotation in the upper-lower direction. Thereby, thereflection mirror 338 performs reciprocating rotation in upper-lower andleft-right directions.

A positional relationship between the light source unit 320 and thelight distribution unit 330 are determined such that the white laserlight W emitted from the light source unit 320 is reflected by thereflection mirror 338 toward the front of the road surface drawing lamp302. The light distribution unit 330 scans a front of the motorcycle 300with the white laser light W by reciprocating rotation of the reflectionmirror 338. For example, the light distribution unit 330 scans a regionof a drawing pattern to be formed with the white laser light W. Thereby,the white laser light W is distributed in the formation region of thedrawing pattern, and a predetermined drawing pattern is formed in frontof the motorcycle 300 (for example, on the road surface).

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of the road surface drawing patternformed by the road surface drawing lamp 302. A road surface drawingpattern 350 (a star-shaped drawing pattern in this example) shown inFIG. 13 is a road surface drawing pattern formed at a predeterminedposition on the road surface in front of the road surface drawing lamp302. H-H indicates a horizontal direction and V-V indicates a verticaldirection.

The light distribution unit 330 of the road surface drawing lamp 302 canscan a rectangular scanning area SA extending in the vehicle widthdirection with the white laser light W. When a scanning position of thelight distribution unit 330 is within the road surface drawing patternto be drawn, the lamp control unit 305 controls each light source 321 toemit laser light from the light source 321. On the other hand, when thescanning position of the light distribution unit 330 is outside the roadsurface drawing pattern to be drawn, the lamp control unit 305 controlseach light source 321 to stop emitting the laser light from the lightsource 321. Thereby, for example, the road surface drawing patternhaving a predetermined shape such as the star-shaped drawing pattern 350shown in FIG. 13 is formed.

Next, a method of controlling the drawing pattern drawn on the roadsurface by irradiation of the road surface drawing lamp 302 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 14A to 14C. FIGS. 14A to 14C show astate in which the motorcycle 300 is traveling along an own vehicle laneC on a road formed by the own lane C and an oncoming vehicle lane D. Anarrow E indicates a traveling direction of the motorcycle 300, and anarrow J indicates a direction of the own vehicle lane C (in FIG. 14A,the arrow E and the arrow J indicate the same direction). An arrow Kindicates a horizontal direction of the road.

FIG. 14A is a view showing a star-shaped drawing pattern 351 drawn onthe road surface by the road surface drawing lamp 302 when the vehiclebody of the motorcycle 300 is not inclined. FIG. 14B is a view showing astar-shaped drawing pattern 352 drawn on a road surface by a roadsurface drawing lamp (a road surface drawing lamp in related art) havingno adjustment function of the road surface drawing pattern when thevehicle body of the motorcycle 300 is inclined leftward. FIG. 14C is aview showing a star-shaped drawing pattern 353 drawn on the road surfaceby the road surface drawing lamp 302 of the present embodiment when thevehicle body of the motorcycle 300 is inclined leftward.

As shown in FIG. 14A, when the motorcycle 300 is traveling with thevehicle body perpendicular to the road surface, for example, whentraveling straight on a straight road, the white laser light W emittedfrom the road surface drawing lamp 302 is drawn on the road surface asthe non-distorted star-shaped drawing pattern 351.

However, as shown in FIG. 14B, when the motorcycle 300 is traveling withthe vehicle body inclined such as leftward with respect to the roadsurface, for example, when traveling with the vehicle body inclined toleftward so as to go toward a left side of the road, the emitted whitelaser light W is drawn on the road surface as the distorted star-shapeddrawing pattern 352 by the road surface drawing lamp in related art.This is because an irradiation distance from the road surface drawinglamp to the road surface is different between a left region and a rightregion of the star-shaped drawing pattern 352 since a horizontaldirection F of the motorcycle 300 is inclined with respect to thehorizontal direction K of the road. For example, with reference to aline indicated by the arrow E that is the traveling direction of themotorcycle 300, the irradiation distance from the road surface drawinglamp to the road surface is reduced as the pattern goes leftward fromthe line E, and the irradiation distance from the road surface drawinglamp to the road surface is increased as the pattern goes rightward fromthe line E. Therefore, a shape of the star-shaped drawing pattern 352drawn on the road surface gradually becomes smaller in a region on theleft of the line E as the shape goes leftward while the shape of thestar-shaped drawing pattern 352 gradually becomes larger in a region onthe right of the line as the shape goes rightward, and the shape of thestar-shaped drawing pattern 352 is drawn on the road surface as thedistorted star drawing pattern 352.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14C, according to the road surfacedrawing lamp 302 of the present embodiment, even when the motorcycle 300is traveling with the vehicle body inclined leftward as described above,the emitted white laser light W is drawn on the road surface as thenon-distorted star-shaped drawing pattern 353. This is because a shapeof the star-shaped drawing pattern to be drawn by scanning of the lightdistribution unit 330 is adjusted by the lamp control unit 305 such thatdistortion due to inclination of the motorcycle 300 is corrected inaccordance with the inclination.

The lamp control unit 305 acquires inclination angle information of thevehicle body of the motorcycle 300 detected by the bank angle sensor 306from the bank angle sensor 306. The lamp control unit 305 acquires astate of the road surface on which the star-shaped drawing pattern 353is drawn from the external sensor 307. Then, the lamp control unit 305calculates a distance between the road surface and the road surfacedrawing lamp 302, that is, the irradiation distance at which the whitelaser light W is emitted, based on the acquired inclination angleinformation of the vehicle body and the road surface state.

The lamp control unit 305 calculates a distortion amount of thestar-shaped drawing pattern generated when being drawn withoutcorrection and calculates a distortion correction amount necessary forcorrecting the distortion, based on information such as an inclinationangle of the vehicle body and the irradiation distance of the whitelaser light W. In order to set the star-shaped drawing pattern on theroad surface into a non-distorted star drawing pattern, the lamp controlunit 305 determines a corrected star-shaped drawing pattern whose shapeis corrected in advance depending on the distortion, based on thecalculated distortion correction amount.

The lamp control unit 305 generates a control signal for drawing thecorrected star-shaped drawing pattern, and transmits the control signalto the light distribution unit 330 and the light sources 321 (321 a to321 c). The light distribution unit 330 and the light sources 321 (321 ato 321 c) form the corrected star-shaped drawing pattern based on thecontrol signal. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 14C, the non-distortedstar-shaped drawing pattern 353 is drawn on the road surface. That is,even when the vehicle body of the motorcycle 300 is inclined, drawingcan be performed while maintaining the shape of the non-distortedstar-shaped drawing pattern (the star-shaped drawing pattern 351 in FIG.14A) drawn when the vehicle body is not inclined.

According to the motorcycle 300 (the vehicle system) configured asdescribed above, the shape of the road surface drawing pattern can becorrected depending on the inclination state of the vehicle body.Therefore, even when the vehicle body is inclined during traveling, theshape of the road surface drawing pattern can be maintained in the sameshape, and thus the road surface drawing pattern can be prevented frombeing mistakenly viewed. Therefore, appropriate information can alwaysbe provided to a driver of the motorcycle 300, an oncoming vehicle, apedestrian and the like by the road surface drawing pattern.

Since the lamp unit 301 includes the bank angle sensor 306, theinclination state of the vehicle body can be accurately detected, andthe detected inclination information can be appropriately reflected information of the road surface drawing pattern.

Since the lamp unit 301 includes the external sensor 307, theenvironmental information around the vehicle can be appropriatelyreflected in the formation of the road surface drawing pattern.

(First Modification)

A first modification of the road surface drawing pattern drawn on theroad surface by the irradiation of the road surface drawing lamp 302will be described with reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B. The road surfacedrawing pattern according to the first modification is different fromthe above embodiment in which the shape of the road surface drawingpattern is maintained in that the shape of the road surface drawingpattern changes depending on the inclination state of the vehicle bodyof the motorcycle 300. The same components as those in the aboveembodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and thedescription thereof is omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 15A shows a guide drawing pattern 361 drawn on the road surface bythe road surface drawing lamp 302 when the vehicle body of themotorcycle 300 is not inclined. FIG. 15B shows a guide drawing pattern362 drawn on the road surface by the road surface drawing lamp 302 whenthe vehicle body of the motorcycle 300 is inclined leftward. The guidedrawing pattern of the present example includes, for example, two guidebars, and indicates a direction in which the driver of the motorcycle300 should proceed.

As shown in FIG. 15A, when the motorcycle 300 is traveling with thevehicle body perpendicular to the road surface, for example, whentraveling straight on a straight road, the white laser light W emittedfrom the road surface drawing lamp 302 is drawn on the road surface asthe guide drawing pattern 361 having a shape in which the two guide barsare straight in parallel.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15B, when the motorcycle 300 istraveling with the vehicle body inclined such as leftward with respectto the road surface, for example, when the motorcycle 300 travelingaround a left corner of the road, the white laser light W emitted fromthe road surface drawing lamp 302 is drawn on the road surface as theguide drawing pattern 362 having a shape in which the two guide bars arealong the left corner of the road.

The lamp control unit 305 recognizes the corner of the traveling roadbased on the inclination angle information of the vehicle body detectedby the bank angle sensor 306, and controls the light distribution unit330 and the light sources 321 (321 a to 321 c) to form the guide drawingpattern 362 having a shape along the corner of the road. The lampcontrol unit 305 may recognize the corner of the road based on, forexample, position information of a center line of the road detected bythe external sensor 307, and form the guide drawing pattern 362 having ashape along the road, that is, a curved shape.

According to the vehicle system of the motorcycle 300 that can be formedby changing the shape of the road surface drawing pattern depending onthe inclination of the vehicle body as described above, informationnecessary for safely traveling around the corner, for example, the guidedrawing pattern 362 having a shape along the road can be provided to thedriver of the motorcycle 300.

(Second Modification)

A second modification of the road surface drawing pattern drawn on theroad surface by the irradiation of the road surface drawing lamp 302will be described with reference to FIG. 16. The road surface drawingpattern according to the second modification is different from the firstmodification in that, when an obstacle is detected in the travelingdirection of the motorcycle 300, an additional drawing pattern is addedto the road surface drawing pattern and drawn on the road surface. Thesame components as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the samereference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted asappropriate.

FIG. 16 shows a state in which the motorcycle 300 is traveling aroundthe left corner. As shown in FIG. 16, the motorcycle 300 is traveling ina state in which the motorcycle 300 does not turn around the corner, butgoes toward the oncoming vehicle lane D beyond the center line withouttraveling on the own vehicle lane C.

In this case, since the vehicle body of the motorcycle 300 is inclinedleftward with respect to the road surface, the two guide bars are drawnon the road surface in front of the motorcycle 300 in the travelingdirection as a guide drawing pattern 371 having a curved shape along theleft corner of the road as in FIG. 15B showing the first modification.Further, in order to inform the driver that the corner of the travelingroad cannot be turned around, an additional drawing pattern 372 (forexample, a triangle mark) is additionally drawn in front of the guidedrawing pattern 371.

The lamp control unit 305 acquires, for example, the positioninformation of the center line of the road detected by the externalsensor 307, the inclination information of the motorcycle 300 detectedby the bank angle sensor 306, and the traveling speed of the motorcycle300 detected by the speed sensor 308. The lamp control unit 305determines whether the corner can be turned around based on informationsuch as the traveling position of the motorcycle 300 with respect to thecenter line, the inclination and the traveling speed of the motorcycle300, and additionally draws the additional drawing pattern 372 when itis determined that the corner cannot be turned around. An objectdetected by the external sensor 307 in order to determine whether to addthe additional drawing pattern is not limited to the center line, andmay be, for example, a general obstacle including another vehicle, apedestrian, a guardrail or the like existing ahead in the travelingdirection.

For example, when an obstacle is detected, the lamp control unit 305 maydraw the additional drawing pattern such as an arrow mark toward theobstacle on the road surface in order to inform the driver of a positionof the obstacle. When the obstacle is detected, light distribution ofthe headlamp 303 may be controlled so as to strongly irradiate thedetected obstacle with light. For example, when the speed detected bythe speed sensor 308 exceeds a specified speed, the additional drawingpattern including characters such as “danger and slow down” may be drawnon the road surface. The lamp control unit 305 may change a positionwhere the drawing pattern is drawn depending on the traveling speed ofthe motorcycle 300. For example, when the traveling speed is low, thedrawing pattern may be drawn at a position close in the travelingdirection of the motorcycle 300, and when the traveling speed is high,the drawing pattern may be drawn at a position far in the travelingdirection of the motorcycle 300.

According to the vehicle system of the motorcycle 300 capable ofadditionally drawing the additional drawing pattern on the road surface,for example, when the obstacle is detected during traveling, thedetection information can be appropriately reflected in the formation ofthe road surface drawing pattern.

In the above embodiment, the lamp control unit 305, the bank anglesensor 306 and the external sensor 307 are accommodated in the lampchamber of the lamp unit 301, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. The lamp control unit 305, the bank angle sensor 306 and theexternal sensor 307 may be disposed separately from the lamp unit 301.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 17 shows a motorcycle 500 as an example of a vehicle according to athird embodiment. The motorcycle 500 is a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner (a curve) of a road by inclining the vehicle body towarda turning direction. The vehicle of the present embodiment may be anyvehicle capable of traveling around a corner by inclining the vehiclebody toward a turning direction, such as the motorcycle 500, and thenumber of wheels is not limited. Therefore, for example, an automatictricycle or an automobile is included in the vehicle of the presentembodiment as long as the vehicle is capable of traveling in the samemanner as the motorcycle 500.

As shown in FIG. 17, the motorcycle 500 includes a vehicle lamp 501 at arear portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 18, the vehicle lamp 501 includesa rear combination lamp unit 502 capable of irradiating a rear side ofthe vehicle, a road surface drawing lamp 504 capable of forming a roadsurface drawing pattern on a road surface behind the vehicle, and anillumination control unit 505 that controls operation of the rearcombination lamp unit 502 and the road surface drawing lamp 504.

The rear combination lamp unit 502 includes, for example, a left stoplamp 521L, a right stop lamp 521R, a left tail and stop lamp 523L, aright tail and stop lamp 523R, a left turn signal lamp 525L and a rightturn signal lamp 525R.

The road surface drawing lamp 504 has a configuration for projecting(emitting) a predetermined drawing pattern on the road surface aroundthe motorcycle 500. The road surface drawing lamp 504 may be, forexample, a projector. In this example, the road surface drawing lamp 504is capable of forming the predetermined road surface drawing pattern(for example, a road surface drawing pattern P in FIG. 25) on the roadsurface behind the motorcycle 500.

The rear combination lamp unit 502 and the road surface drawing lamp 504are connected to the illumination control unit 505. In addition, a bankangle sensor 506 that detects an inclination state (a bank angle) of themotorcycle 500 and an external sensor 507 (an example of a detectionunit) that detects environmental information outside the vehicle areconnected to the illumination control unit 505. Further, a speed sensor508 or the like that detects a speed of the motorcycle 500 are connectedto the illumination control unit 505. The illumination control unit 505,the bank angle sensor 506, the external sensor 507 and the speed sensor508 are mounted at predetermined positions on the vehicle body of themotorcycle 500. The illumination control unit 505 may be implemented tofunction as an integrated control unit (a vehicle electronic controlunit (ECU)) mounted on the motorcycle 500, or may be implemented tofunction as a control device disposed in a lamp chamber of the rearcombination lamp unit 502 or the road surface drawing lamp 504.

The illumination control unit 505 includes, for example, at least oneelectronic control unit (the ECU). The electronic control unit mayinclude at least one microcontroller including one or more processorsand one or more memories, and other electronic circuits including activeelements such as transistors and passive elements. The processor is, forexample, a central processing unit (a CPU), a micro processing unit (anMPU), a graphics processing unit (a GPU), and/or a tensor processingunit (a TPU). The CPU may include a plurality of CPU cores. The GPU mayinclude a plurality of GPU cores. The memory includes a read only memory(a ROM) and a random access memory (a RAM). The ROM may store a vehiclecontrol program. For example, the vehicle control program may include anartificial intelligence (AI) program for automatic driving. The AIprogram is a program constructed by supervised or unsupervised machinelearning using a neural network such as deep learning. The RAM maytemporarily store a vehicle control program, vehicle control data,and/or surrounding environment information indicating a surroundingenvironment of the vehicle. The processor may be configured to load theprogram specified by the vehicle control program stored in a storagedevice or the ROM onto the RAM and execute various processing incooperation with the RAM.

The electronic control unit may include an integrated circuit (hardwareresource) such as an application specific integrated circuit (an ASIC)or a field-programmable gate array (a FPGA). The electronic control unitmay include a combination of at least one microcontroller and theintegrated circuit.

The information detected by the bank angle sensor 506, the externalsensor 507 and the speed sensor 508 is transmitted to the illuminationcontrol unit 505. The illumination control unit 505 controls operationof lamps of the rear combination lamp unit 502 and the road surfacedrawing lamp 504 based on the information transmitted from the sensors506 to 508. For example, the illumination control unit 505 can controlthe lamps of the rear combination lamp unit 502 based on the informationdetected by the sensors 506 to 508 to adjust an illumination patternvisible from around (particularly, the rear side) of the motorcycle 500.The illumination control unit 505 can control the road surface drawinglamp 504 based on the information detected by the sensors 506 to 508 toadjust the road surface drawing pattern formed on the road surfacebehind the motorcycle 500.

FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of the vehicle lamp 501 mounted on themotorcycle 500 in FIG. 17, and FIG. 20 is a bottom perspective view ofthe vehicle lamp 501. FIG. 21 is a top view of the vehicle lamp 501, andFIG. 22 is a left side view of the vehicle lamp 501.

As shown in FIGS. 19 to 22, a protrusion 603 protruding rearward from atandem seat 601 is provided at the rear portion of the motorcycle 500. Acamera 507A and a LiDAR 507B are mounted on a rear end side of theprotrusion 603 as examples of the external sensor 507. That is, theenvironment information on the rear side of the motorcycle 500 can beacquired by the camera 507A and the LiDAR 507B.

First cowls 605L, 605R and second cowls 607L, 607R are provided asvehicle body covers that reduce air resistance in the rear portion ofthe motorcycle 500.

The pair of left and right first cowls 605L, 605R are attached below thetandem seat 601 and are disposed to extend upward and obliquelyrearward. As shown in FIG. 20, the left first cowl 605L is formed in acurved shape so as to form a space where the left tail and stop lamp523L and the left turn signal lamp 525L of the rear combination lampunit 502 described below can be disposed on a left side of theprotrusion 603 on which the camera 507A and LiDAR 507B are mounted asview from the rear side of the vehicle. The right first cowl 605R isformed in a curved shape so as to form a space where the right tail andstop lamp 523R and the right turn signal lamp 525R of the rearcombination lamp unit 502 can be disposed on a right side of theprotrusion 603 as view from the rear side of the vehicle.

The pair of left and right second cowls 607L, 607R are respectivelydisposed outside bent portions 605L1, 605R1 of the first cowls 605L and605R formed in a substantially L-shape as viewed from above the vehicle.The left second cowl 607L includes a first region 607L1 extending in anupper-lower direction and a second region 607L2 extending in afront-rear direction from an upper end of the first region 607L1. Theright second cowl 607R includes a first region 607R1 extending in theupper-lower direction and a second region 607R2 extending in thefront-rear direction from an upper end of the first region 607R1.

Light-emitting units each including a light source and a light guide(not shown) are respectively provided on rear end surfaces of the leftand right first cowls 605L, 605R, and the light emitting unitsrespectively function as the left stop lamp 521L and the right stop lamp521R.

The left tail and stop lamp 523L and the right tail and stop lamp 523Rare respectively disposed on a left side surface and a right sidesurface of the protrusion 603. The left tail and stop lamp 523L and theright tail and stop lamp 523R respectively include a plurality of lightsources 541 (light sources of the right tail and stop lamp 523R are notshown) and light guides 543L, 543R (an example of optical members) thatdiffuse light emitted from the plurality of light sources 541. As shownby broken lines in FIG. 20, the plurality of light sources 541 areprovided inside the protrusion 603. A lamp light source or a lightemitting element can be used as the light source 541. Examples of thelamp light source include an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, adischarge lamp, a neon lamp and the like. Examples of the light emittingelement include a light emitting diode, a laser diode, an organic ELelement and the like.

The light guides 543L, 543R are formed as flat plates having asubstantially rectangular shape, and are disposed so as to protrude in aleft-right direction respectively from the protrusion portion 603. Thelight guides 543L, 543R are formed of a transparent resin material.Examples of the resin material used for the light guides 543L, 543Rinclude a transparent thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin suchas a polycarbonate resin and an acrylic resin.

The light guides 543L, 543R include first light emitting regions 543L1,543R1 that diffusely radiate light emitted from the light sources 541,and light non-emitting regions 543L2, 543R2 that do not diffuselyradiate light emitted from the light sources 541. The light guides 543L,543R are configured such that the strip-shaped first light emittingregions 543L1, 543R1 and the band-shaped light non-emitting regions543L2, 543R2 are alternately disposed to form a stripe pattern. Thefirst light emitting regions 543L1, 543R1 are formed of, for example, aresin material having a light transmitting property and containing alight diffusing material that diffuses the light emitted from the lightsources 541. Thereby, the first light emitting regions 543L1, 543R1 candiffusely radiate the light emitted from the light sources 541. Examplesof the light diffusing material include titanium dioxide particles. Thelight non-emitting regions 543L2, 543R2 do not contain a light diffusingmaterial. Therefore, the light emitted from the light sources 541 is notdiffused.

The light guides 543L, 543R further include second light emittingregions 543L3, 543R3 disposed respectively on outer edges thereof andcontaining a light diffusing material. Density of the light diffusingmaterial contained in the second light emitting regions 543L3, 543R3 isset to be higher than density of the light diffusing material containedin the first light emitting regions 543L1, 543R1. Thereby, lightemission intensity of the second light emitting regions 543L3, 543R3 ishigher than light emission intensity of the first light emitting regions543L1, 543R1.

Light-emitting units each including a light source and a light guide(not shown) are respectively provided in first regions 607L1, 607R1 ofthe left and right second cowls 607L, 607R. The light emitting unitsrespectively function as the left turn signal lamp 525L and the rightturn signal lamp 525R. That is, the left turn signal lamp 525L isdisposed on the side of the vehicle frontward than the light guide 543Lfunctioning as the left tail and stop lamp 523L. Similarly, the rightturn signal lamp 525R is disposed on the side of the vehicle frontwardthan the light guide 543R functioning as the right tail and stop lamp523R.

The road surface drawing lamp 504 is disposed on a lower surface of theprotrusion 603. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, the road surfacedrawing lamp 504 can form a fan-shaped road surface drawing pattern P byirradiating the road surface behind the motorcycle 500 with a pluralityof band-shaped lines. A mounting position of the road surface drawinglamp 504 may be any position as long as the road surface drawing patternP can be formed on the road surface behind the motorcycle 500, and isnot limited to the position illustrated in the present embodiment.

The illumination control unit 505 is configured to change lighting modesof the lamps 521L, 521R, 523L, 523R, 525L, 525R of the rear combinationlamp unit 502 and the road surface drawing lamp 504 depending on a stateof the motorcycle 500. For example, the illumination control unit 505may be configured to light the left stop lamp 521L, the right stop lamp521R, the left tail and stop lamp 523L and the right tail and stop lamp523R based on brake control of a driver of the motorcycle 500. Theillumination control unit 505 may be configured to light one of the leftturn signal lamp 525L and the right turn signal lamp 525R based on adirection instruction input of the driver of the motorcycle 500. Theillumination control unit 505 may be configured to form the road surfacedrawing pattern P on the road surface by the road surface drawing lamp504 simultaneously with a lighting timing of the lamps of the rearcombination lamp unit 502 or in conjunction with the lighting timing ofthe lamps of the rear combination lamp unit 502.

As described above, the vehicle lamp 501 according to the presentembodiment includes the left and right tail and stop lamps 523L, 523R(examples of a first lamp) that emit light to the rear side of themotorcycle 500, and left and right turn signal lamps 525L, 525R(examples of a second lamp) disposed on a side of the motorcycle 500frontward than the left and right tail and stop lamps 523L, 523R to emitlight to the rear side of the motorcycle 500. The tail and stop lamps523L, 523R respectively include the light sources 541 and light guides543L, 543R that diffuse the light emitted from the light sources 541.Since the light guides 543L, 543R are formed of a transparent member,the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R are configured to be visiblerespectively through the light guides 543L, 543R of the tail and stoplamps 523L, 523R. According to this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 21and 23, even from a direction in which the tail and stop lamps 523L,523R are disposed inward than the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R, lightingof the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R can be recognized respectively viathe light guides 543L, 543R. That is, visibility of the turn signallamps 525L, 525R can be ensured from any direction behind the vehicle.

The light guides 543L, 543R of the tail and stop lamps 523L, 523R areformed in a plate shape. Therefore, the visibility of the turn signallamps 525L, 525R can be reliably ensured. In the above example, thelight guides 543L, 543R of the tail and stop lamps 523L, 523R are formedof the transparent member, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. The light guides 543L, 543R may be formed of a member (forexample, a translucent member) having a light-transmitting propertythrough which the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R are visible. In the aboveexample, an entirety of each of the light guides 543L, 543R is formed ofthe transparent member, but the present invention is not limitedthereto. As long as the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R are visible throughthe light guides 543L, 543R, a part of each of the light guides 543L,543R may be made of a non-transparent member.

The light guides 543L, 543R are configured such that the firstlight-emitting regions 543L1, 543R1 that diffusely radiate the lightemitted from the light sources 541 and light non-emitting regions 543L2,543R2 that do not diffusely radiate the light emitted from light sources541 are alternately disposed to form the stripe pattern. Thereby, thetail and stop lamps 523L, 523R having novel designs while ensuring thevisibility of the turn signal lamps 525L, 525R can be provided.

The light guides 543L, 543R further include the second light emittingregions 543L3, 543R3 disposed respectively on the outer edge thereof andformed of a material containing the light diffusing material. The lightemission intensity of the second light emitting regions 543L3, 543R3 ishigher than the light emission intensity of the first light emittingregions 543L1, 543R1. Thereby, a function of the tail and stop lamps523L, 523R as marker lamps can be maintained by causing the second lightemitting regions 543L3, 543R3 to emit the light, and the tail and stoplamps 523L, 523R having novel designs can be provided by causing thefirst light emitting regions 543L1, 543R1 forming the stripe pattern toemit the light.

Next, an example of lighting control processing of the road surfacedrawing lamp 504 according to the present embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 24 and 25.

First, the illumination control unit 505 receives a detection signalfrom the external sensor 507 (for example, the camera 507A and the LiDAR507B disposed on a rear end surface of the protrusion 603), and acquiresenvironmental information around the motorcycle 500 (step S10).

Next, based on the environmental information acquired in step S10, theillumination control unit 505 determines whether an inter-vehicledistance between the motorcycle 500 as an own vehicle and an object (forexample, a following vehicle V in FIG. 25) is equal to or smaller than afirst distance (step S12). The first distance is, for example, about 7to 10 meters. When it is determined in step S12 that the inter-vehicledistance is equal to or smaller than the first distance (Yes in stepS12), the illumination control unit 505 continuously lights the roadsurface drawing lamp 504 (step S14). Thereby, the fan-shaped roadsurface drawing pattern P including the plurality of band-shaped linesis formed by continuously irradiating the road surface behind themotorcycle 500 (see FIG. 25).

Next, the illumination control unit 505 determines whether theinter-vehicle distance between the motorcycle 500 and the followingvehicle V is equal to or smaller than a second distance (step S16). Thesecond distance is, for example, about 4 to 7 meters. When it isdetermined in step S16 that the inter-vehicle distance is equal to orsmaller than the second distance (Yes in step S16), the illuminationcontrol unit 505 causes the road surface drawing lamp 504 to blink (stepS18). Thereby, the road surface drawing pattern P is under blinkirradiation.

Next, the illumination control unit 505 determines whether theinter-vehicle distance is equal to or smaller than the second distance(step S20). When it is determined in step S20 that the inter-vehicledistance is not equal to or smaller than the second distance (that is,the inter-vehicle distance is larger than the second distance) (No instep S20), the illumination control unit 505 continuously lights theroad surface drawing lamp 504 (step S22). Thereby, the road surfacedrawing pattern P is formed again by continuous irradiation.

Next, the illumination control unit 505 determines whether theinter-vehicle distance is equal to or smaller than the first distance(step S24). When it is determined in step S24 that the inter-vehicledistance is not equal to or smaller than the first distance (that is,the inter-vehicle distance is larger than the first distance) (No instep S24), the illumination control unit 505 turns off the road surfacedrawing lamp 504 during continuous lighting (step S26). Thereby, theroad surface drawing pattern P disappears. Thereafter, the illuminationcontrol unit 505 returns the processing to step S12.

As described above, the vehicle lamp 501 according to the presentembodiment includes the road surface drawing lamp 504 that forms theroad surface drawing pattern P on the road surface behind the motorcycle500, the external sensor 507 (for example, the camera 507A and the LiDAR507B) that detects the following vehicle V of the motorcycle 500, and anillumination control unit 505 that controls the road surface drawinglamp 504. The illumination control unit 505 controls the road surfacedrawing lamp 504 so as to form the road surface drawing pattern P, forexample, when the inter-vehicle distance between the motorcycle 500 andthe following vehicle V is equal to or smaller than a certain distance(for example, the first distance), based on detection information on thefollowing vehicle V acquired from the external sensor 507 (an example offirst detection information).

According to this configuration, by forming the road surface drawingpattern P on the road surface behind the motorcycle 500 when theinter-vehicle distance between the motorcycle 500 and the followingvehicle V is short, a driver of the following vehicle V can be notifiedof approach to the motorcycle 500. Thereby, the driver of the followingvehicle V can be alerted to appropriately ensure the inter-vehicledistance to the motorcycle 500.

The road surface drawing pattern formed on the road surface around themotorcycle 500 is not limited to the shape of the road surface drawingpattern P shown in FIG. 25. For example, the illumination control unitmay form a road surface drawing pattern including information on theinter-vehicle distance (for example, “Get close!” or “Inter-vehicledistance: **m”). Thereby, the driver of the following vehicle V caneasily recognize that the road surface drawing pattern is intended toensure the inter-vehicle distance.

In the above embodiment, the road surface drawing lamp 504 is disposedin the rear portion of the motorcycle 500 (in vicinity of the rearcombination lamp unit 502), and the road surface drawing pattern P isformed on the road surface behind the motorcycle 500 by the lightemitted from the road surface drawing lamp 504, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto. When a road surface drawing lamp isprovided in a front portion or a side portion of the motorcycle 500 anda distance between the motorcycle 500 and an object in front of or onthe side of the vehicle (for example, a preceding vehicle, a parallelrunning vehicle, an oncoming vehicle or a pedestrian) is smaller than acertain distance, the illumination control unit may form a predeterminedroad surface drawing pattern on the road surface in front of or on theside of the motorcycle 500. With this configuration, the driver of thevehicle or the pedestrian around the motorcycle 500 can be notified ofapproach to the motorcycle 500, and the driver of the motorcycle 500 canbe notified of approach to the surrounding object.

The illumination control unit 505 is configured to change a display modeof the road surface drawing pattern P depending on the inter-vehicledistance between the motorcycle 500 and the following vehicle V.Specifically, as described above, in a case where a plurality ofthresholds (the first distance and the second distance) are provided forthe inter-vehicle distance between the motorcycle 500 and the followingvehicle V, and the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or smaller thanthe first distance, the illumination control unit 505 is configured tocontinuously irradiate the road surface to form the road surface drawingpattern P when the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or smaller thanthe first distance, and to cause the road surface drawing pattern Punder blink irradiation when the inter-vehicle distance is equal to orsmaller than the second distance. Thereby, the driver of the followingvehicle V can be more effectively alerted using the road surface drawingpattern P. Instead of causing the entire road surface drawing pattern Punder blink irradiation, the illumination control unit 505 may emit in astepwise manner (sequentially emit) the plurality of band-shaped linesconstituting the road surface drawing pattern P. When the inter-vehicledistance is equal to or smaller than the second distance, theillumination control unit 505 may be configured to change the shape ofthe road surface drawing pattern to a shape different from that of theroad surface drawing pattern P.

The illumination control unit 505 may be configured to be capable ofacquiring detection information (an example of second detectioninformation) different from the detection information on the followingvehicle V. The second detection information preferably includes at leastone of information on the vehicle speed of the motorcycle 500,information on a change state of the vehicle speed of the motorcycle500, and information on weather. In this way, by adding other conditionsother than the inter-vehicle distance between the motorcycle 500 and thefollowing vehicle V to form the road surface drawing pattern P, theillumination control unit 505 can more effectively alert the driver ofthe following vehicle V. In a case where it is important to ensure theinter-vehicle distance, for example, when the motorcycle 500 istraveling at a high speed, when the motorcycle 500 performs a suddenbrake, or in bad weather, it is preferable to advance an irradiationtiming of the road surface drawing pattern P or to form the road surfacedrawing pattern P with high visibility from the driver of the followingvehicle V. Therefore, by setting the first distance serving as thethreshold of the inter-vehicle distance to a distance longer than normal(for example, about 10 to 13 meters) based on the second detectioninformation, the driver of the following vehicle V can be reliablyalerted even in a scene where it is important to ensure theinter-vehicle distance. Instead of changing setting of the firstdistance, or in addition to changing the setting of the first distance,when the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or lower than the firstdistance, the road surface drawing pattern P may be under blinkirradiation by causing the road surface drawing lamp 504 to blink.

The illumination control unit 505 preferably has a first mode in whichthe road surface drawing pattern P is formed on the road surface bylighting the road surface drawing lamp 504 depending on the firstdetection information, and a second mode in which the road surfacedrawing pattern P is formed on the road surface depending on an inputinstruction of the driver of the motorcycle 500. In this way, since theillumination control unit 505 has the second mode in which the roadsurface drawing pattern P can be formed based on the input instructionof the driver of the motorcycle 500, the road surface drawing pattern Pcan be appropriately formed even when it is determined that the driveris required to alert the following vehicle V.

In the above embodiment, the first detection information on the object(for example, the following vehicle V) around the vehicle is acquired bythe external sensor 507 including at least one of a LiDAR, a camera, aradar and the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto.For example, the illumination control unit 505 may acquire the firstdetection information using road-to-vehicle communication with a basestation device or inter-vehicle communication with an onboard device ofanother vehicle. The illumination control unit 505 may acquire the firstdetection information by combining the detection signal from theexternal sensor 507 and the road-to-vehicle communication or theinter-vehicle communication. In this way, by using the road-to-vehiclecommunication or the inter-vehicle communication, various detectioninformation can be acquired.

An order of the processing defined in the steps shown in FIG. 24 ismerely an example, and the order of these steps can be changed asappropriate.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is needless to say that the technical scope of the presentinvention should not be interpreted as being limited to the descriptionof the embodiments. The present embodiments are merely examples and itis to be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications of the embodiments can be made within the scope of theinvention described in the claims. The technical scope of the presentinvention should be determined based on the scope of the inventiondescribed in the claims and the scope of equivalents thereof.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-168285filed on Sep. 1, 2017, Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-168286 filedon Sep. 1, 2017, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-204725 filedon Oct. 23, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

1. A vehicle system comprising: a road surface drawing lamp mounted on avehicle capable of traveling around a corner by inclining a vehicle bodytoward a turning direction; and a control unit configured to adjust ashape of a road surface drawing pattern formed on a road surface by theroad surface drawing lamp, wherein the control unit is configured tomaintain the shape of the road surface drawing pattern regardless of aninclination state of the vehicle body.
 2. A vehicle system comprising: aroad surface drawing lamp mounted on a vehicle capable of travelingaround a corner by inclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction;and a control unit configured to adjust a shape of a road surfacedrawing pattern formed on a road surface by the road surface drawinglamp, wherein the control unit is configured to change the shape of theroad surface drawing pattern depending on an inclination state of thevehicle body.
 3. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein afirst sensor configured to detect the inclination state of the vehiclebody is provided in the road surface drawing lamp.
 4. The vehicle systemaccording to claim 1, wherein a second sensor configured to detectenvironmental information around the vehicle is provided in the roadsurface drawing lamp.
 5. The vehicle system according to claim 4,wherein the environmental information includes an obstacle around thevehicle, and wherein, when the obstacle is detected by the secondsensor, the control unit is configured to control the road surfacedrawing lamp to form an additional drawing pattern added to the roadsurface drawing pattern, based on at least one of position informationof the vehicle, position information of the obstacle and information ona relative positional relationship with respect to the obstacle.
 6. Alamp unit provided in a vehicle capable of traveling around a corner byinclining a vehicle body toward a turning direction, the lamp unitcomprising: a road surface drawing lamp; and a control unit configuredto adjust a shape of a road surface drawing pattern formed on a roadsurface by the road surface drawing lamp, wherein the control unit isconfigured to operate the road surface drawing lamp in at least one of afirst mode in which the shape of the road surface drawing pattern ismaintained regardless of an inclination state of the vehicle body, and asecond mode in which the shape of the road surface drawing pattern ischanged depending on the inclination state of the vehicle body.